Proper Care for Newly Tattooed Skin

So you just got inked. Before you get too excited about your new tat, you should know how to properly care for your tattooed skin. It takes about one week for a newly inked skin to heal. However, the skin would need a maximum of 45 days to completely repair any damage caused by the inking process. Proper skin care is a must while your tattoo is healing. At this stage proper care is essential in preventing infection and preserving the appearance of the tat in the long run. If you went to a good tattoo artist, he or she will give you information on proper aftercare, as well as information about the healing period.

Proper After Care of Tattooed Skin

Wash your hands before touching your healing tattoo. You must always remember this rule. Make sure that you wash your hands thoroughly before touching your healing tat to prevent any infection.

Remove your tattoo’s bandage within 2 hours. A good tattoo artist will use a clean bandage to cover the new tattoo. Make sure that you remove this bandage within 2 hours after you got inked to prevent it from sticking to your skin. With your clean hands, wash the tattooed skin area using an antibiotic soap. After rinsing, pat dry using disposable paper towels. You may be wondering why not use a cloth towel. A cloth towel can bring in germs which can lead to infection. Also you must remember to pat dry only since rubbing can be too harsh. If you see some blood, don’t get nervous as this is only normal. All you need to do is blot the blood with a paper towel.

Apply non-antibiotic ointment on your newly tattooed skin. The use of non-antibiotic ointment is recommended since some people get allergies from topical antibiotics. What you need to remember is as long as your hands are clean and you’ve cleaned your tattoo, you won’t need to use an anti-bacterial agent until the next session of cleaning. Apply only a thin layer of non-antibiotic ointment. It is best to avoid using ointments with petroleum jelly as many tattoo artists say that petroleum jelly actually cause fading.

Argan oil is an excellent topical ointment to use. The oil is loaded with nutrients that are beneficial to the skin. It is loaded with antioxidants such as Vitamin E, Squalene, Carotenoids, Ferulic acid and Polyphenols. These antioxidants protect the skin from the effects of free radicals and may also help repair skin damage. It also is a powerful moisturizer. Another good things about Argan oil is that is it free from toxic chemicals that are usually found in many popular products as the oil is a natural extract of the Argan fruit seeds. Just make sure that you do not have a nut allergy before using this oil. Do not cover your healing tattoo with a bandage after applying the layer of ointment.